Clock hand



Sept. 3, 1940.

R. H. WHITEHEAD CLOCK HAND Filed Jan. 15, 1938 IN VEN TUR.

A TTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 3, 1940 UNITED STATES CLOCK HAND Application January 15,1933, Serial No. 185,127

3 Claims.

This invention relates to indicator hands for instruments, clocks andthe like. Such hands are customarily held in place solely by frictionand this requires that they be forced in place with considerablepressure. Such operations are satisfactory Whenever the hand is flat andthe hub of the hand surrounding the shaft hole is accessible for thecontact with the pressing tool.

In many modern instruments, however, particularly in the streamlinedautomobile, the clock hands are desired also in streamlined or non-flatform and frequently in the form of curved or angular channel with theconvex side out and with such ornamental forms it is desired to concealthe shaft connection from View.

It has been proposed to make hands with concealed hubs by soldering orwelding or otherwise fastening to the underside of the hand a socketwhich is concealed from view by the face of the hand. Such a hand,however, must be pressed in place from the face and on this account itmust be solidly held, as for example by soldering, so that the pressureon the face will not distort the appearance by damaging the form ororna- 25 mentation. Such construction is costly in manufacturing, it isunnecessarily heavy and it makes it difficult to employ aluminum or itsalloys because of the difficulty of soldering them without drawing thetemper.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved handwhich may be inexpensively constructed of any material desired free fromany of the above limitations.

To accomplish this result the hub portion is separated from the bodyportion of the hand to the extent that it may be pressed in placewithout interference by the body portion and thereafter the body portionis put in place.

Within the broad scope of this invention the hub portion may becompletely separate and the hand may be attached thereto after the hubis faced in place. I have, however, chosen for illustration thepreferred embodiment in which the hub portion is separated by a narrowneck which permits the parts to be assembled as described, but affords asimple and inexpensive way of assembling hub and body portion into finalposition.

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessingthe features, properties and the relation of elements which will beexemplified in the article hereinafter described and the scope of theapplication of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a clock having hands embodying thisinvention.

Figure 2 is a plan of the hand.

Figure 3 is a cross section of a hand with the hub forced in the shaftpartly in section.

Figure 4 is a similar view with the hand bent in place.

Figure 5 is a side elevation with one hand partly in section.

While the hand of this invention is applicable to a wide variety of useson various instruments I have chosen to illustrate it as applied to aclock.

In the drawing, accordingly there is illustrated a clock A With a face Band having a minutehand C embodying this invention and used with anhour-hand D. The minute-hand C comprises a body portion it having ageneral channel or angle shape section with an apex or ridge Hlongitudinally centrally disposed and facing outwardly so as to provideupon the under side a hollow channel to receive the supporting shaft 53.

This hand as it is stamped has a tab or hub M extending out at the sidethereof, formed of the same sheet metal as the hand itself, andconnected thereto by a neck l5, and having a hole it to receive theshaft l3. The hand is put in place by placing the hub M on the shaft andforcing it in place with the reverse side of the hand outwardly. Duringthis operation free access of the pressing tool to the hub is possiblebecause the body of the hand is disposed to the side of the hub as shownin Figure 3. When the hub is firmly in place the hand itself may be bentaround over the hub by bending the neck l5 as shown in Figures 4 and 5.

An hour-hand D may be mounted on a concentric shaft ll, which hand hasits main body portion I8 also in the form of a hollow channel. The hubIQ of the hour-hand, however, may be made fiat in usual form since it isconcealH by the minute-hand.

By reason of the fact that the hour-hand also is of channel form itrequires a greater amount of clearance between the minute-hand and thedial. This may be obtained either by extending the shaft it beyond theshaft If a greater degree than usual, or it may be accomplished wherethe extension of the shaft is impractical by lengthening the neck it ofthe minute-hand to bring the hub M closer to the face while stillproviding full clearance below the hand itself.

This construction provides an effective and inexpensive hand that ishighly ornamental and which may be forced firmly into place withoutdanger of accidental removal without damage to its face.

Since certain changes may be made in the above construction anddifferent embodiments of the invention could. be made without departingfrom the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in theabove description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as amatter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. An instrument hand comprising an im-- perforate channel shaped body,a hub extending laterally therefrom and adapted to be attached to ashaft, said hub being attached to said body by a bendable connection,said attachment being sufficiently flexible so that it may be bentwithout disturbing the position of the hub upon the shaft.

2. An instrument hand adapted for attachment to a shaft comprising animperforate body portion adapted to be exposed to view to serve as anindicator, a perforate hub portion adapted to encircle and grasp ashaft, an easily bendable connection between said hand and said hubportion of such shape and bendability that when said hub portion isattached to said shaft, said body portion may be bent over said hubportion to conceal said hub portion and said shaft without disengagingsaid hub portion from said shaft.

3. A device in accordance with claim 2' in which the body portion ishollow and the hub portion is attached to and integral with the sidewall of said body portion.

RICHARD H. WHITEI-IEAD.

